This month, Netflix announced a new distribution deal with CANAL+ that will bring its content to subscribers in 24 Sub-Saharan African countries, mostly in Francophone regions. Beginning in July, Netflix will be bundled into CANAL+ packages, giving audiences easier access to global titles in markets where billing, data, and infrastructure challenges have made subscriptions difficult to maintain.

It’s a big moment.

And while it’s easy to see this as a game of corporate strategy and regional dominance, we’re also choosing to see it as a moment of potential, a chance to pause and ask: what could meaningful partnership in the African film and TV space look like going forward?

As a production company, we’ve always believed that access and ownership should go hand-in-hand. We know first-hand how hard African filmmakers work to tell stories that are rich, complex, and local in language, tone, and context. We’ve also seen how difficult it can be to get these stories into the right hands not just in Europe and North America, but here at home.

This new Netflix–CANAL+ partnership presents an opportunity to shift that.

First, Let’s Celebrate the Access

We know that in many parts of Africa, it’s not the content that’s missing, it’s the pathway to get it. Infrastructure remains uneven. Billing systems don’t always work. Credit card access is low. Data is expensive. In many Francophone countries, Netflix wasn’t just under-marketed, it was nearly impossible to pay for.

With CANAL+ acting as the distribution bridge, that gap starts to close. More people will now have access to some of the world’s most talked-about series and films, alongside CANAL+’s own growing library of African programming. For everyday audiences, this is a win.

And in a market where formal streaming partnerships are still in their infancy, bundling models like this can expand access in ways that are more affordable, culturally relevant, and rooted in existing habits.

But What Comes Next?

As much as we welcome the access, we also think it’s worth asking: how will African filmmakers be part of the next chapter?

So far, this deal is about distribution. It gives Netflix a wider reach and CANAL+ a richer offer. But it doesn’t (yet) address the deeper questions of production, infrastructure, or long-term creative collaboration.

Will this partnership open the door for co-productions between Netflix and CANAL+ in Africa?

Will we see more investment in stories from Francophone Africa, where Netflix currently has no original productions?

Could this partnership offer support beyond licensing support for development, local crews, dubbing, post-production, or regional marketing?

There’s no roadmap yet, but we hope this deal becomes more than just a content pipeline and evolves into something producers, writers, and filmmakers across the continent can actively shape and benefit from.
 
Our Hope: A Future Built with, Not Just for Africa

We’ve seen too many models where African markets are treated as passive consumers, not active creators. We’re hopeful that this partnership can take a different path one that values shared storytelling, fair financing, and real regional input.

There’s a lot we still don’t know about what this partnership might grow into. But here’s what we do know:
• African stories travel—when they are supported, distributed well, and handled with care.
• Co-production works—when there’s trust, clarity, and creative equity.
• We don’t need to be saved—but we do need platforms that see us as partners, not just markets.
 
An Invitation, Not a Critique

This isn’t a criticism of the Netflix–CANAL+ deal. In fact, we see it as a starting point. It’s a chance to rethink what collaboration across platforms, languages, and borders could look like and to imagine a future where African producers are not just pitching into a vacuum, but working hand-in-hand with platforms that are invested in the region for the long haul.

It’s also a moment to make space for African infrastructure, to support the companies, crews, editors, subtitlers, and marketers who are already doing the work.

To Netflix and CANAL+:
You’ve opened a door. We hope it leads to a room full of storytellers.

To our fellow filmmakers:
Let’s keep pushing for partnerships that move beyond access, and into ownership.
Let’s keep telling our stories. Let’s keep asking the questions.
And let’s keep imagining a future that is made here and made well.